Chiefs vs. Bills, Week 6: Chiefs Wire staff predictions

I hate to pick against the Chiefs, but my gut tells me it’s the right call this week. Not that the Chiefs are incapable of winning this one — I won’t be surprised if they do. But I think Buffalo has a slight edge.

The Chiefs’ defense is missing linebacker Willie Gay Jr. and cornerback Rashad Fenton, and will likely be without CB Trent McDuffie as well. That’ll leave two rookies — fourth- and seventh-round picks — starting at cornerback. Jaylen Watson, the seventh-rounder, has actually been good this season, while Joshua Williams has had just 17 defensive snaps.

I think Williams and Watson are capable of having good games, but I just see Bills quarterback Josh Allen taking advantage of a young, inexperienced defensive squad that’s also missing its top linebacker. Allen is throwing at a great pace this season and is Buffalo’s top runner. I’m not sure the defense is healthy enough to contain him.

On the other side of the ball, I expect the Chiefs to put up a good chunk of points on the Bills. But despite leading the league in points per game, I think the Chiefs’ offense still has room to grow. I don’t know if the offense has quite reached the level it wants to reach yet this season. There’s a reason why Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdowns to Travis Kelce last week and not one of his receivers. He’s still developing a rapport with those guys.

I expect the Chiefs’ offense to shape up by the end of the year, but in the meantime, the Bills may do just enough to outscore the Chiefs and pull away.

Bills 34, Chiefs 31